[Update: 9:58pm] And the Rays opponent in the ALDS will be the Chicago White Sox after their 1-0 victory over the Twins. This season the Rays were 6-4 against the Sox, going 4-3 in two series at the Trop back in April and May and taking 2 of 3 in Chicago at the end of August.

[Update: 9:05pm] Scoreless through 5 and a half. We are so confused every time they go back to the studio and Ernie Johnson is sitting there. We are expecting Charles Barkley to be there and tell us how ridiculous Nick Blackburn’s pitch selection is.

[Update: 8:49pm] Momentum turning play? With 1 out and a man on third, Michael Cuddyer tried tagging on a very shallow flyball to center. The ball was shallow enough even for Ken Griffey Jr who fired a 1-hopper to home to get Cuddyer at the plate and end the inning.

[Update: 8:01pm] They are underway in Chicago, scoreless in the second inning. Anybody else rooting for the White Sox to win in 17 innings, using all their relievers and a couple of starters?

[Update: 5:51pm] Jonny Gomes is telling the media he is not on the ALDS roster, but will travel with the team. We believe teams can add a player to the roster during a series if an injury occurs.

[Update: 4:35pm] Joe Maddon just announced that James Shields will be the game 1 starter and Scott Kazmir will go in game 2. Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine will follow in games 3 and 4, respectively. Edwin Jackson is telling reporters that he is not on the postseason roster for the first round.

[4:30pm] We now know Carl Crawford will be on the postseason roster. That means the final roster spot could come down to Eric Hinske or Fernando Perez, unless Joe Maddondecides to use only six pitchers in the bullpen. That is not likely if Troy Percival is also on the roster. If Percy is on, we are guessing Hinske and Edwin Jackson are off. Check back throughout the evening as we will post roster updates here as well as updates on the Twins-White Sox 1-game playoff.

Joe Maddon told the press today that Carl Crawford will be on the postseason roster and will start game 1 in left field. However, he will likely bat lower in the lineup. [Rays Report]

Carl Crawford went 2-3 in this morning’s instructional league game, hitting a triple off the wall his first time up and adding a single later. He also struck out looking and was caught stealing. [The Heater]

In case you missed it earlier, Modern West, Kevin Costner’s band, have recorded a song for the Rays’ postseason…And it is as bad as you can imagine. [Rays Index]

Outs Per Swing is back with another list of pitching performances. This time it is the “Bottom 10″…It is good thing the Rays won the division. Had the Rays missed the division title or even the playoffs by 1 or 2 games, this list would have caused us to repeatedly pound our head on the desk, all while mumbling the name “Edwin Jackson“. [Outs Per Swing]

6 Comments

if i remember correctly, there is a day off between games 4 and 5, so the Rays would have Kazmir available on normal rest for game 5. Seems to make much more sense to go Shields-Kazmir, with Sonnanstine on call for either game, rather than Sonny-Shields